JoyRide Spinraiser for Shatterproof to Help Families Affected by Addiction

In the United States alone, alcohol and other drugs claim more than 135,000 lives every year, 350 every day, and 15 every hour, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. JoyRide Cycling + Fitness Studio will host a fundraising event in its Wilton and Westport studios this Sunday, May 21 to raise money to support Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the devastation the disease of addiction causes families.

Shatterproof works to end the stigma and foster a community of support for families by providing evidence-based resources to support prevention, treatment and recovery. Shatterproof also advocates for federal and state policy changes by supporting the development and implementation of evidence-based solutions for substance-use disorders.

The Wilton ride will be led by instructors Anne Stauff, a Wilton resident, and Jaime Falco at 11 a.m.; simultaneously, JoyRide co-founder/co-owner Rhodie Lorenz and instructor Alison Vitolo will lead the Westport ride. In the Westport studio, Riders will also have the opportunity to post stickers on Shatterproof’s pop-up Stigma Wall in memory or in honor of their loved ones affected by addiction.

“Addiction is a disease that shatters lives,” says Gary Mendell, the founder and CEO of Shatterproof and Easton resident. “Everyone’s support helps expand our efforts in the prevention, treatment, rescue and recovery of addiction. We are incredibly grateful to JoyRide’s commitment to our mission.”

Wendell founded Shatterproof to spare others the tragedy his family suffered with the loss of his son, Brian, to addiction in 2011. He is an experienced businessman and CEO, who founded HEI Hotels & Resorts and is the former president of Starwood Lodging Trust.

All donations will enable Shatterproof to develop and support effective, evidence-based prevention, treatment, rescue and recovery programs and significantly cut the number of those addicted, the number of people who die each year, and the exorbitant costs to society.

“We all have family members or friends affected by addiction, and we need to support them as they overcome the obstacles in their paths. We strongly believe we can make an impact by joining forces with Shatterproof for the third year in a row,” says Lorenz. “We hope this fundraiser will help break the stigma of addiction and bring us together as a community.”

Bikes can be reserved online for both of these inspiring fundraising rides–either Wilton or Westport. The suggested minimum donation is $40 per rider. Advanced sign-up is recommended because classes fill quickly. Following the rides, there will be silent auctions and light bites.

For the past two years, JoyRide has also organized teams to rappel down a 21-story building in Stamford for Shatterproof. The next rappel is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7 at Beacon Point in Stamford. To learn more about Shatterproof and how you can help, please visit the Shatterproof website.

When JoyRide co-founders and Westport residents Amy Hochhauser and Lorenz founded their first boutique indoor cycling studio nearly seven years ago, giving back and helping the community was a central component of their ethos. They say they have witnessed, first-hand, how fitness can transform people’s lives, whether it be improving their health, becoming stronger physically and emotionally or overcoming challenges on and off the bike. As they opened three additional studios around Connecticut, the joy grew: JoyRide has not only become a premier fitness destination in Westport, Darien, Wilton and Ridgefield, but it has also become a significant, entrenched part of the community, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable causes and organizations that are close to riders’ hearts. Thanks to Lorenz’s and Hochhauser’s leadership, motivating and inspiring instructors, and a positive community of riders, the culture of JoyRide has become much more than fitness: it’s a culture of good health, paying it forward, supporting one another and spreading joy.

JoyRide Wilton is located at 3 Godfrey Pl.; JoyRide Westport is at 1200 Post Road East (behind Crate & Barrel) in Westport.